Getting Started: Annual, Perennial and Shrub Sages

First posted on Feb 5, 2015

For beautiful floral display and refreshing greenery, every yard needs a combination of annual bedding plants, perennials and shrubs. Salvias provide a feast of landscaping possibilities. Plus, many Salvias are a literal feast for small wildlife, such as bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

These landscaping components abound colorfully worldwide among Salvias offering choices ranging from full sun to full shade plants. Only trees are a rarity in the massive Salvia genus, which contains about 900 true sages -- many in multiple varieties as well as hybrids -- in the mint family (Lamiaceae).

We'll explore the choices, starting at annuals and rising up into the not-to-tall canopy of some sages referred to as trees.

Salvia Annuals
Somewhere all sages are repeat performers fitting into the category of perennial or shrub. However, many grow so rapidly and provide such a long-lasting floral display that gardeners in USDA zones with chilly winters grow them as annuals requiring planting each year. Long blooming, heavily flowered Friendship Sage (S. 'Amistad') is one of many examples.

Many Salvia annuals, such as Tropical Sage (S. coccinea) are also referred to as tender perennials due to succumbing to light frost, which can even occur in warm winter USDA zones 10 and 11.

Herbaceous PerennialsHerbaceous perennials have soft stems as well as foliage. They don't have woody growth unless they are in the somewhat ambiguous category called subshrubs, which have both soft and woody growth.

Most perennial Salvia species die to ground during winter. In contrast, the woody portion of subshrubs often remains standing during the cold months. Some soft herbaceous species, such as Hummingbird Sage (S. spathacea) are evergreen unless an unexpected frost hits their warm zones.

Perennials return in spring year after year in their USDA hardiness zones. Hardy Salvia perennials range from shade- and water-loving Japanese woodland sages to Central Asian species, such as Turkish Salvias, that tolerate heat, cold and drought.

Salvia Shrubs and Subshrubs
Except in warm native environments, most Salvia subshrubs are deciduous, which means that they lose their foliage in winter. However, some are evergreen in their warmer USDA zones, such as the Autumn and Mountain Sage group (S. greggii and S. microphylla), which are known for greenery year round in the warmest areas of Texas and the Southwest. In contrast, cold-hardy varieties of these species are deciduous in cold-winter zones and may lose their foliage if an unexpected freeze strikes in a warm winter zone.

Salvias that have almost entirely woody stems are called shrubs. If grown in areas with winter lows and other growing conditions similar to their home environments, they are generally evergreen.

Evergreen Salvia shrubs include the heat- and drought-tolerant Cleveland Sages (Salvia clevelandii), which are native to central and southern California where their coldest environment is Zone 8. If freezing temperatures occur and, especially, if prolonged, these evergreen shrubs may lose some or all of their foliage.

Salvia Trees
Some Salvia shrubs are so tall, woody, leafy and long-lived that they are referred to as trees. However, as the University of Utah notes "the distinction between trees and shrubs is not always clear."

One Salvia species that is considered arboreal in its homeland of the Dominican Republic is Sage Tree (S. arborescens), which can grow up to 12 feet tall and 5 feet wide in USDA Plant Hardiness Zones 9 to 11.

Another species that some Salvia specialists classify as a tree and others see as a shrub is Big Mexican Scarlet Sage (S. gesneriiflora 'Tequila') which grows up to 10 feet tall and spreads about eight feet wide in Zones 8 to 11.

Biennials and Other Questions
Yes, some Salvias, such as Silver Sage (S. argentea) -- a species that we will soon offer for sale -- are biennial. Biennials are plants that put their effort into producing foliage their first year and then bloom in subsequent years.

Flowers by the Sea grows hundreds of Salvia species and companion plants, which we sell through our online plant nursery. Please feel free to contact FBTS about whatever kind you want or that piques your curiosity. We're here to help you get started creating a more beautiful garden.

Updated 2/22/16

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Testimonials

I love the salvia's that I received! They were beautiful, healthy and in-bloom. I will buy more in the future.

Daphne

Flowers by the Sea is one of my favorite nurseries; buying plants from them reminds me of kennels that raise puppies in the house as family dogs until they are old enough to sell: these are well loved plants: well grown, well documented, well shipped. Pop them in the ground and stand back. I...

Katie Percy

The plants arrive in great condition and have started growing without any problems.
The whole experience was very favorable. I highly recommend them.

Dennis Murphree

JUST LETTING YOU KNOW THAT I RECEIVED THE SALVIAS I ORDER THE NEXT DAY AFTER YOU SHIPPED THEM. THE NINE PLANTS THAT I ORDER WERE IN GOOD SHAPE PLUS THE FREE ONE THAT YOU GAVE ME.SINCE THEY WERE MOIST I LET THEM REST OVER NIGHT AND PLANTED THEM IN GALLON CANS.THE NEXT DAY AND THEY LOOK GOOD.I...

virginia furtado

I ordered two Salvia Amistad from FBTS. The plants arrived in great condition and the soil in the pots was still moist. I set them outside in partial sun to let them \"harden\" and in a couple of days replanted them in larger containers. They are flourishing and have more than tripled in size...

Glenda Hawthorne

I ordered 4 salvia this year. All arrived GREEN and VIBRANT--no wilt and no breakage. By far the best plant packing I have seen...but most importantly, all the plants went into the ground and took perfectly.I love the selection! Please keep scouring the world for new salvias. Also love the...

Scott

Lovely salvia plants, two out of three of them extra lush, and very well packaged!

Marcy S.

I have now had gardens in four locations (Boston, Oregon, Palm Springs, and Mountain Center, CA) with plants from Flowers by the Sea. I LOVE Salvias, and there is no one I'd rather buy them from.Plants are shipped well, and in a timely fashion, always surprisingly large and always...

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I cannot rate this company highly enough! Wonderful web site, endless interesting varieties, excellent service, and strong, healthy plants which arrive ready to grow practically right out of the box. I wholeheartedly recommend Flowers by the Sea to all my gardening friends, and only wish I'd...

Mary Jo Ballator

Once again I received a fine shipment of Salvias from you folks. Your quality is superb! I always know that
your plants with have sufficient maturity when I received them that allow me to plant them and enjoy their
beauty. I also appreciate your policy of combining orders to save...